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This story is part of the series Election-2012

Networks, cable crank up wattage

Bruce Schwartz, USA TODAY
10:34 p.m. EST November 6, 2012

A view of the Empire State Building, projecting an LED illuminated meter to show the results of the 2012 Presidential Election as CNN counts the numbers of electoral votes for each candidate, showing Barack Obama in blue and Mitt Romney in red, as polling in each state closed.(Photo: Mehdi Taamallah, AFP/Getty Images)

Story Highlights

CNN bathed upper floors of the Empire State Building in red, white and blue

Rockefeller Center's ice rink had a U.S. map with states shaded in red or blue as races were called

By far the flashiest symbol of TV news' quadrennial night to shine, CNN bathed upper floors of the Empire State Building in red, white and blue. The cable news channel, in a deal with the towering NYC landmark, lighted the path to President Obama's or Gov. Mitt Romney's victory up its famous mast with a red-and-blue LED "meter." When a winner was reached, floodlights would change to the appropriate solid color.

It was just the most visible sample of network and cable wattage trained on Election Night coverage. CNN had a "ballot cam, " virtual Senate" and "magic wall." Fox News had its multi-feed multimedia "Launchpad."

NBC, as is its tradition, transformed its Rockefeller Center home base to "Democracy Plaza," where the famous skating rink had an electoral map of the country etched on the ice, individual states shaded in red or blue as races were called. The network's Brian Williams was the only veteran election anchor returning on the Big 3 broadcast networks.

ABC was anchored by Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos. A centerpiece of its election headquarters, beyond the shots of Times Square in the background, was a circular LED screen on the floor in front of the anchor desk. (ABC press noted that the screen could not withstand being stood on, which would seem to make it an obstacle for anyone moving about the studio.)

Arrayed around Sawyer and Stephanopoulous were many of ABC's news stars, including network newcomer Katie Couric, off to herself as the network's monitor of social media. "This is truly the first digital election," she said.

By comparison, PBS was positively spartan — no flashing lights or colored maps, just the only two-woman anchor team on television, Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill, and states called through the courtesy of AP reports and other networks.

The early vote projections were as subdued as the tech was flashy. All the broadcasters approached reporting with a stated abundance of caution: Starting shortly after 7, they called the obvious races, but kept the battlegrounds too close to call through much of the early evening.

CBS coverage, anchored by newcomer Scott Pelley, stayed straightforward and low-key. Commentators Bob Schieffer and Norah O'Donnell sat with him in the studio. As Pelley told viewers early on, based on exit polling and vote totals, "When we are absolutely confident, we'll make the CBS projection of the state that each candidate has won."

Flashes of humor rarely broke the somber tone on CBS. But once, Schieffer speculated on why Romney campaigned Tuesday in Cleveland — a Democratic stronghold: "Maybe he was trying to tie up traffic or something to keep the Democrats from going to vote there."

All called most races within a few minutes of one another; for the control of the House, they generally called it for the Republicans to retain, around 9:15. And they all closely tracked the incredibly close Florida vote count, the two candidates at times separated by only hundreds of votes among millions. Said John King, standing at CNN's Magic Wall, "That's called wow. That's what you call that in American politics."

But differences did begin to emerge in contested races as the night progressed. ABC at 9:22 projected Pennsylvania to go to Obama, for example, later than either Fox and NBC. And ABC continued to be more cautious than the competition as things unfolded, still not having called the swing state of Wisconsin for the president even as CBS and Fox called the race at 9:35, and NBC was already painting the state blue on the Rockefeller Center ice rink.